Ok, honestly I had no intention of checking out this game when I went to E3 but I’m like a raccoon; any shiny thing and I can’t help myself – I must investigate. (As you can imagine, Vegas is almost lethal for me with its all-pervasive, glitzy hokum.) Because of this unhealthy compulsion, I was drawn against my will to the press booth for the “Scarface” game because it had a dramatic red velvet double staircase, opulent gold statues and crystal chandeliers. “What deliciously tasteless and tacky spectacle awaits me inside?” Well the presentation didn’t disappoint.

I climbed the velvet stairs and entered the tatty Shangri-la. Let me just say that there are few things in my life I’ve witnessed more disturbing than a skinny, blonde, white PR guy spouting obscenities in a bad Tony Montana accent. It was seriously embarrassing enough to make me want to hide under my chair.

“Scarface” is a 3rd person action adventure game in the spirit of GTA – wait, no. Since it’s based on a movie, it’s more in the spirit of EA’s GTA knockoff, the Godfather. You play as Tony Montana and the game starts where the movie ends except this time things work out differently for our favorite drug lord. Instead of going down in a hail of bullets, Tony Montana lives to fight and deal another day. Having lost everything, you must start over and work to rebuild your cocaine empire, avenging yourself upon your enemies along the way.

The developers recreate Miami in the 1980’s in a familiar if not spectacular way that adds little to the Miami-like setting of Vice City. However, those of you who dig shooting things up and hate the 1980s will be pleased since all of it’s destructible.

Gameplay is in keeping with many post-GTA action titles, featuring both a linear storyline and sandbox play within a large seamless world. People can be interacted with for brief and amusing exchanges, business owners can be intimidated, women can be picked up, money can be made, bling can be bought, cars can be hijacked and used to mercilessly squash pedestrians. The method by which you regain Tony’s past glory is reminiscent of the aforementioned Godfather game; you approach business owners and offer to buy them out. If they don’t agree, you make deals with them (i.e. – perform missions for them) or use intimidation to get them to see things your way. Once you’ve gotten your hands on some dough, you not only can buy a mansion and all sorts of luxury items and women to go in it, you can hire henchmen and lawyers to do more of the dirty work for you.

Now it’s not enough to do all this in the way it’s been done before. Vivendi’s taken a cue from Tony Montana in regard to the mechanics by rewarding the player for being as violent and ballsy as possible. And I do mean ballsy. Those of you who successfully intimidate, insult and pound rival gang members and local citizenry will be granted “balls points” (I kid you not. “Balls” points.) which grant you the ability to taunt your enemies. Enemies when taunted become vulnerable – they’ll come out from cover and become readier targets. When you’ve gained enough “balls points”, (The term is so absurd, I find I just can’t say it enough.) Tony will go into “Blind Rage” mode which is something sort of like Max Payne’s bullet time. For a short while, the camera zooms in, things move in slow motion, Tony’s invincible and he has unlimited ammo. The one feature I’m most interested in though is one wherein you can mix your own soundtrack – after all, who hasn’t wanted to be able to hear their favorite tune blaring in the background as they mow someone down in a seedy Trans Am?

Aside from fast paced, stylish violence, Vivendi’s main boast for the game is that several of the original movie actors are doing the VO, although it appears Al Pacino declined and would only go so far as to pick the voiceover actor for the lead. It’s disappointing that Pacino declined to be in the game. No one says “cock-a-roach” like he can.

Anyway, in spite of the ridiculous E3 presentation, the game seems worth a look-see. It appears to have a reasonable amount of interesting gameplay, a decent sense of humor and since it centers on one of the most melodramatic movie heroes of all time, it has the highest camp-rating of any game I’ve seen. Those of you who dig guns, road rage, cheesy Cuban accents, garish palm tree-patterned shirts and prefer your dialog liberally peppered with obscenities, say hello to Vivendi’s lil’ friend.